Green House Japan announced a unique multi-format card reader that supports tablets, smartphones and PCs, which is compatible with the Android operating system. The GH-CRAD-SUAK from Green House is a lightweight device with a micro-USB 2.0 connector on one end, which plugs into the latest Android tablets and smartphones with the connector, or to a PC with a micro-to-standard USB cable. On its business end, the card reader sports a standard SDIO slot, a micro-SD slot, a micro-USB port (so you don't end up losing the only such port of your device), and a full-size USB port. Measuring 61.2 x 10.6 x 19.7 mm (WxDxH), the GH-CRAD-SUAK is feather-light, at 9.5 g. Slated for late-September, it is expected to be priced at 2,480 JPY (US $31.7).

HP today announced four new consumer all-in-one (AiO) PCs, including two additions to the HP ENVY line that feature the latest touch-technology innovation in a small footprint, one-cord solution.

"The clean look of an all-in-one PC and the ease of one-cord set-up are key reasons customers turn to HP," said James Mouton, senior vice president and general manager, Personal Computer Global Business Unit, HP. "The Spectre design is art as well as a powerful entertainment hub. Across our rich line of all-in-ones, we continue to drive value and differentiation that have earned us sales of more than 5 million all-in-ones."

Sharkoon is expanding their portfolio of USB3.0 devices: New products now available are an internal card reader, an external card reader and an external 4-Port USB3.0 hub for a SuperSpeed interface.

The Sharkoon Internal USB3.0 Card Reader can be mounted in either a 3.5 inch bay or with the illuminated adapter frame in a 5.25 inch bay to the PC case. To connect the external USB3.0 mainboard a 100 cm long USB3.0 cable with matching compatible bracket is attached. The unit supports SD (HC), SDXC, MMC, MS and CF, the most common card formats. In particular: SDXC (capacity up to 2 TB), SD(HC), microSD(HC), mini SD; CompactFlash: v4.1 with PIO mode 6 and Ultra-DMA mode 6, v5.0 with LBA48 (capacity up to 144 PB); MultiMediaCard (MMC): MMC specification v3.x, v4.0, v4.1 and v4.2, Databus x1, x4 and x8 Bit; Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick Micro, Memory Stick PRO-HG and Memory Stick XC (capacity up to 32 GB), the card reader is compatible with the "Memory Stick Series" specifications MS v1.43, MS PRO v1.05, MS Micro v1.04 (MS HG Micro v1.00), MS PRO-HG Duo 1.03, MS XC Duo v1.00, MS XC-HG Duo v1.00, MS XC Micro v1.00 and MS XC-HG Micro v1.00.

SanDisk Corporation, a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, today announced that Fujitsu has selected the SanDisk iSSD integrated storage device for use in the new Fujitsu LIFEBOOK lineup of Ultrabook computers.

The 32 gigabyte (GB) SanDisk iSSD provides fast, reliable storage in the Fujitsu LIFEBOOK U772, UH772 and UH572 models, which Fujitsu introduced today. SanDisk iSSD technology is combined with Condusiv Technologies ExpressCache software in the new Fujitsu LIFEBOOK computers to deliver improved system performance. This software and hardware combination reduces system startup and application loading times to deliver a better overall user experience.

Green House Japan unveiled a new line of industrial SDHC cards that are designed to endure operating temperatures as high as 70°C, and as low as 0°C, which makes them fit to serve as removable storage media in IPCs and outdoor static cameras. The cards further pack ECC logic to prevent data corruption. The cards make use of SLC NAND flash, and come in capacities of 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, and 8 GB. The 256 and 512 MB models provide transfer rates as high as 19 MB/s reads with 7 MB/s writes, while the other models provide speeds as high as 20 MB/s reads with 13 MB/s writes. Green House left pricing to the open markets.

Lexar introduced a new variant of its Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader, which it launched back in May, 2011. The new variant supports faster UDMA7 mode for the CompactFlash bay, which allows users to take advantage of the company's recently-launched Professional 1000X Series CompactFlash cards. The new transfer mode, combined with the new CF cards, churns out transfer rates as high as 167 MB/s. In addition, the reader's SDXC/SDHC/SD card slot supports SD UHS-I with maximum transfer rate of 104 MB/s. To make sure there is zero interface bottleneck with the host PC, the reader takes advantage of the 5 Gb/s USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface. Measuring 69.9 x 63.5 x 25.4 mm, the reader weighs about 69 g. Its pricing is not disclosed, yet.

Buffalo Japan introduced the RMSD-C6SA series of Class6 microSDHC cards. Pictured below, the cards are available in capacities of 4 GB (RMSD-4GC6SA), 8 GB (RMSD-8GC6SA), 16 GB (16GC6SA RMSD), and 32 GB (RMSD-32GC6SA). As Class6 devices, transfer rates of at least 6 MB/s are guaranteed. The packages include adapters that convert these cards into standard-size SDHC cards. Compatibility with devices such as the Nintendo Wii, 3DS, DSi, and DSii, is guaranteed. The 4, 8, 16, and 32 GB variants are priced at 2,880 JPY (US $34.6), 3,880 JPY (US $46.7), 8,880 JPY (US $107), and 17,880 JPY (US $215), respectively.

Crucial, a leading global brand of memory and storage upgrades, today announced the immediate availability of the Crucial Adrenaline Solid State Cache Solution for enhancing Windows 7-based PC performance. A simple upgrade that allows users to keep their existing hard drive, Crucial Adrenaline enables PCs to boot up to twice as fast and increases data access speeds by up to eight times. Crucial Adrenaline provides users with the best of both worlds: SSD-like performance with the high capacity of a traditional hard drive, all at an affordable cost.

Comprising a 50 GB Crucial m4 SSD, 3.5" adapter bracket, SATA cable, and NVELO Dataplex caching software, Crucial Adrenaline improves performance by intelligently placing, or "caching," the most frequently needed files on the SSD and leaves less frequently used files on the hard drive. Crucial Adrenaline is available now through select global channel partners, or directly at www.crucial.com/ssc, with an MSRP of $117.99.

Buffalo Japan announced two new lines of memory card readers that take advantage of the USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface, the BSCR09U3 series, and the BSCRD04U3. The BSCR09U3 has a typical desktop form-factor, it measures 85 x 13 x 49 mm (WxDxH), weighing about 35 g. It supports a variety of media formats, including SD/SDHC/SDXC (standard, mini, and micro), MS-Duo, M2, CompactFlash, and XD Picture Card, with zero interface bottlenecks.

The BSCRD04U3, on the other hand, resembles the shape of a flat highlighter pen. It measures 33 x 15 x 69 mm, weighing 17 g. Once uncapped, it can be plugged directly to a USB 3.0 port, or extended via a cable. This reader only supports SD/SDHC/SDXC (standard, mini, and micro). Both card readers are available in black and white options. Slated for April, the BSCR09U3 is priced at 3,402 JPY (US $41.8), while the BSCRD04U3 goes for 2,826 JPY (US $34.7).

Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, announced today that it is now shipping a new line of advanced SD and microSD cards that are ideal for digital imaging and mobile devices. The seven new models of SD and microSD cards are now available as part of either the High Speed Series or the Plus Extreme Speed Series, both of which deliver up to 24 MB/sec read speeds on cards with a capacity of 4 GB or higher.

We have previously reported on the super cheap ARM-based Raspberry Pi hobby computer that's been under development from the Raspberry Pi foundation. However, it's now going into production and is generating a lot of interest, so gamesindustry.biz interviewed its founder, Eben Upton, about it (free registration required).

The computer's primary purpose is as a computer science teaching aid in schools and colleges and also for home brew use by enthusiasts who want to tinker with it and make specialized solutions out of it. However, it seems that enthusiasts will have a nice surprise in that the onboard GPU is surprisingly good. The actual ARM implementation is a Broadcom BCM2835 System on Chip (SoC) containing an ARM 11 CPU and a custom graphics core, which has been designed by the Raspberry Pi team, including Upton. In the interview, Upton claimed that it can double iPhone 4S performance and handily beats NVIDIA's Tegra solution, because of its tile mode architecture.

At CES 2012, Sony announced it is expanding its line of SD cards with a new flagship series designed for ultra-high speed interface (UHS-I) compatibility, giving DSLR users superb speed and high performance. The new cards are available in capacities of 32 GB (SF-32UX), 16 GB (SF-16UX) and 8 GB (SF-8UX).

The new cards offer significantly higher transfer speeds up to 94 MB/s (read) and 45 MB/s (write, for SF-8UX, write speed is 22 MB/s), ideal for the burst shooting and HD video modes of today's DSLR cameras and HD camcorders (based on Sony tests and dependent on host hardware). They can also realize rapid data rates when transferring content - even large, high-resolution HD files - back to their PCs. And when used with non-UHS-I supported hardware, the new Sony cards will still maintain Class 10 speed.

A new SD memory card standard can transform millions of everyday consumer electronics into wireless LAN devices with portable storage and communications. The Wireless LAN SD standard announced today is the SD Association's first wireless SD memory card standard combining storage and wireless capabilities. Consumers will be able to transfer pictures, videos and other content wirelessly from most existing digital cameras and digital video cameras to web-based cloud services and between SD devices over home networks.

The Wireless LAN SD standard combines the world-leading memory card storage standard with the ubiquitous wireless standard IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n, part of the Association's strategy to expand SD services and features by incorporating other global standards. This standard is applicable to full size SD/SDHC/SDXC and microSD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards. It taps into a billions-strong SD standards market for which manufacturers can develop products and consumers can reliably use Wireless LAN applications.

Cavium, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAVM), a leading provider of semiconductor products that enable intelligent processing for networking, communications, and digital home applications, today announced a technology and marketing collaboration with Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to offer Intel(R) WiDi-based products designed to enable superior wireless display consumer experience. The resulting end-to-end solution will combine Intel(R) WiDi's ease-of-use and innovation with Cavium's super low latency technology and advanced video processing techniques to further enhance Intel(R) WiDi's interactivity and broaden its target applications. As a part of the marketing collaboration, Intel and Cavium will work together to expand and grow the market for wireless display products. A range of OEMs will soon be offering Intel(R) WiDi compatible receivers with Cavium's PureVu(TM) media SoC. Live demonstrations of Cavium's new Intel(R) WiDi receivers are available at Cavium's suite at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, between Jan 10th and 13th.

Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, today announced the launch of its new Copy Protection SD/microSD Memory Cards. By recording data in a CDROM style partition, Copy Protection SD/microSD cards ensure the safety of valuable intellectual property against unauthorized copy, modification, and deletion.

VR-Zone have been having a little chat with Intel 'sources', who have leaked some juicy tidbits for us to enjoy in the form performance and power news. The upcoming next generation Medfield platform is Intel's first true System on a Chip (SoC) and is designed to compete with various low power ARM offerings in the tablet space. To help achieve this, they've gone through an internal restructure, merging four business units into just one: Ultra-Mobility, Mobile Wireless, Mobile Communications and Netbook & Tablet PC. The business unit is now simply known as Mobile and Communications. It's being run by Mike Bell and Hermann Eul and the first product to emerge from it will be is the 32 nm Medfield SoC solution.

VR-Zone explained that the competition will be "Apple's A-Series, NVIDIA Tegra, Qualcomm Snapdragon, Samsung Exynos, Texas Instruments OMAP and the likes. Out of all the chips mentioned above, only Samsung's Exynos is currently manufactured in 32nm process, just like Medfield."

Way back in 2008, we reported that Seagate was lowering warranties of its hard disk drives from 5 years to 3. This trend quickly spread throughout the HDD industry and unsurprisingly, wasn't something that customers were too happy about. Now, Western Digital is lowering the warranty on some of its HDD lines from 3 years to a mere 2, with the affected lines being the Caviar Blue, Caviar Green and Scorpio Blue. Lines not affected are the Caviar Black, Scorpio Black, A/V drives and externals. Also, as the stock feeds through the channel, there will be a transition period where the same model in a store will have either a 2 or 3 year warranty, depending on its serial number, which can be checked on WD's support site. It will be interesting to see if retailers will clearly differentiate to customers which drives have which warranty, as it might be rather convenient for them not to.

Channel partners have received a letter from SelectWD about this:

Racetrack memory, is a new type of magnetic memory that has magnetic domains "racing" along tiny nanometer sized wires, giving performance similar to conventional DRAM. Invented by IBM Fellow, Stuart Parkin, it has been in development since about 2004, with a working prototype having now been unveiled containing 256 "racetrack" cells, each containing a single wire. The technology works by sending very fast electric pulses down these wires, measured in nanoseconds, which transmit very fast moving magnetic domains which are then read by a magnetic head either as a one or a zero, depending on their direction. IBM said in a statement: "This breakthrough could lead to a new type of data-centric computing that allows massive amounts of stored information to be accessed in less than a billionth of a second."

Thermal Solutions specialist GELID Solutions reveals the GX-7 CPU cooler of its GAMER product line. Engineers at GELID Solutions have created an outstanding new CPU cooler with 7 power heat pipes. Contrary to traditional heat pipe arrangement for this GAMER CPU cooler "GX-7", a special array of heat pipes was used to take full advantage of all 7 heat pipes heat transfer capacity. Further V-shaped aluminum fins were used in the center of the heat sink to allow airflow to reach the heat sink more evenly. Openings inside of the heat sink and near the heat pipes let fresh-air flows in from the top and the bottom to zones normally poorly ventilated, and eliminate the creation of hotspots. The unique heat sink shape supports dual fans.

Included in the GX-7 is the multi-award winning Wing 12 PL fan, allowing the cooler to reach remarkable temperature. The Wing 12 PL Blue features blue LEDs and unique Nanoflux bearing which ensures a friction-free and silent operation. Thanks to the clever design and magnetic bearing, the impeller can be detached for easy cleaning. Additionally, fan blade winglets were designed to achieve larger airflow and greater static pressure. The fan also includes a premium PWM control, so the temperature can be controlled precisely by the BIOS.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the launch of the Kingston USB 3.0 Media Reader. The reader takes advantage of performance benefits offered by USB 3.0 technology, allowing for faster data download times.

The Kingston USB 3.0 Media Reader supports multiple card formats including the newer high-capacity SDXC. With its quick and easy plug-and-play design, it delivers up to 5.0Gb/s data transfer speed for high-resolution images, large data files and more making it ideal for serious enthusiasts who need a fast and reliable data transfer device. It is also backwards compatible with USB 2.0.

ASUS today launched the ASUS Eee Pad Slider, a tablet that builds on the great success of the Eee Pad Transformer. Prior to its launch, the Eee Pad Slider has already made its mark with its winning design at the International Design Excellence Awards 2011. The Eee Pad Slider, which comes in either pearl white or metallic brown, features a slide-out keyboard, the new Google Android 3.1 operating system (Android 3.2 upgradable), as well as a plethora of powerful multimedia features. In pad mode, users can experience rich visuals on the 178° wide viewing angle IPS display. Connectivity is a breeze too, with the built-in USB port, Micro SD card reader, and mini-HDMI port. In slide-out mode, users can take advantage of the keyboard to compose emails and blog posts faster than ever.

Apacer, the global leader in memory module, is making aggressive moves into the sector of value-added products by debuting today a new industrial SD card designed for embedded systems in harsh storage environments. Features include high reliability, high storage and resistance to extended temperatures. These advantages enable the new card to be widely applied to industrial, military, communication, surveillance, medical devices and car navigation, thereby satisfying the storage need of demanding industrial enterprises.

Compliant with Ver. 2.0 standard and SDHC Class 10 high-speed transmission standard as defined by the SD Association, the new SD card from Apacer also supports SD and SPI modes. By using the superbly reliable SLC chip, it not only delivers the features of anti-shock, anti-vibration and low power consumption, but also boasts resistance to extended temperatures (-40ºC to 85ºC). Available in capacities from 256 MB to 8 GB, the new SD card can substantially accelerate data transfer, due to its sequential read/write speed reaching up to 20/13 MB per second. It is also worth noting that the card's automatic standby and sleep modes help save power more effectively.

In this age of high-definition camcorders, do you find yourself with a high speed memory card to go with your professional standard camera, but lacking an ultra-high speed card reader to complete the package? SP (Silicon Power), leading manufacturer of flash memory, today announces the launch of the all-new USB 3.0 ALL IN ONE card reader. With its universal compatibility and high speed 5 Gb/sec data transmission rate, it is the ultimate link between high-performance memory cards and storage devices for professional-level photographers.

Designed to accommodate all mainstream memory cards, the ALL IN ONE card reader is highly compatible and reliable. Containing five card slots for simultaneous read and write, it is equipped to deal with even the latest high speed SDXC UHS-1 memory card. Whether you are looking to upload every second of a high definition video or a series of high resolution action shots, the ALL IN ONE card reader will have the job done in a matter of seconds. Supporting Ultra DMA mode 7, the ALL IN ONE card reader runs on CF600X high-speed memory cards at their fastest capacity. Using the latest high speed USB 3.0 interface, it takes the stress out of transferring high definition photographs, making file saving faster and easier.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced it is shipping a 32GB Class 10 microSDHC card, adding to its family of 4GB, 8GB and 16GB Class 10 cards. The Kingston 32GB Class 10 microSDHC card is perfect for users with substantial memory and performance needs.

Kingston's Class 10 microSDHC cards are compatible with many of the latest smartphones, hi-def cameras and popular tablet PCs. The Class 10 cards have a fast minimum data transfer rate of 10MB/s and when combined with an optional adapter, can be used as a full-size SDHC card. The cards come as a standalone, with an SD adapter or as a Mobility Kit which includes the card, SD adapter and USB card reader.

Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced the new Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader, a high-performance card reader that enables professional and advanced amateur photographers and videographers to maximize their workflow with blazing-fast transfer speeds. The reader leverages SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) technology to deliver high-speed performance that supports the latest CompactFlash (CF) UDMA, Secure Digital Extended Capacity (SDXC), and SD Ultra High Speed-I (UHS-I) memory cards. The versatile reader is also backwards compatible with standard CF, SD, and Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) memory cards and USB 2.0 host devices.

"USB is the most popular connectivity option for PCs, and it's critical that professional photographers and videographers have convenient and versatile tools to maximize their workflow and fully leverage the performance of their high-speed memory cards," said Manisha Sharma, director of product marketing for cards, Lexar Media. "The Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader combines extremely fast performance with a versatile, innovative design to provide pro and hobbyist shooters with a reader that dramatically reduces image transfer time. The speed offered by the reader enables users to move large volumes of high-resolution images and HD video faster than ever, allowing them to spend less time at the PC and more time on other activities."